Chapter VIII.

How food should be taken with regard to the aim at
perfect continence.831831Quod pro
perfectæ continentiæ fine esca sumenda
sit.—Petschenig. Quomodo cibum appetere, ac sumere
liceat is the title as given by Gazæus.

And so it is a very true
and most excellent saying of the Fathers that the right method of
fasting and abstinence lies in the measure of moderation and bodily
chastening; and that this is the aim of perfect virtue for all alike,
viz.: that though we are still forced to desire it, yet we should
exercise self-restraint in the matter of the food, which we are obliged
to take owing to the necessity of supporting the body. For even if one
is weak in body, he can attain to a perfect virtue and one equal to
that of those who are thoroughly strong and healthy, if with firmness
of mind he keeps a check upon the desires and lusts which are not due
to weakness of the flesh. For the Apostle says: “And take not
care for the flesh in its lusts.”832832Rom. xiii. 14.
He does not forbid care for it in every respect: but says that care is
not to be taken in regard to its desires and lusts. He cuts away the
luxurious fondness for the flesh: he does not exclude the control
necessary for life: he does the former, lest through pampering the
flesh we should be involved in dangerous entanglements of the desires;
the latter lest the body should be injured by our fault and unable to
fulfil its spiritual and necessary duties.